Zechariah 3:1-8:17

Legacy Standard Bible

The High Priest and a Branch

3 Then he showed me ^(A)Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of Yahweh, and ^[a](B)Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. ² And Yahweh said to Satan, “^(C)Yahweh rebuke you, Satan! Indeed, Yahweh who has ^(D)chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a ^(E)brand delivered from the fire?” ³ Now Joshua was clothed with ^(F)filthy garments and standing before the angel. ⁴ And he answered and spoke to those who were standing before him, saying, “^(G)Remove the filthy garments from him.” Again he said to him, “See, I have ^(H)made your iniquity pass away from you and ^[b]will ^(I)clothe you with festal robes.” ⁵ Then I said, “Let them put a clean ^(J)turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments, while the angel of Yahweh was standing by.

⁶ And the angel of Yahweh testified to Joshua, saying, ⁷ “Thus says Yahweh of hosts, ‘If you will ^(K)walk in My ways and if you will keep the responsibility given by Me, then you will also ^(L)render justice in My house and also keep My ^(M)courts, and I will grant you ^[c]access to walk among these who are standing here. ⁸ Now listen, Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who are sitting in front of you—indeed they are men who are a ^(N)wondrous sign, for behold, I am going to bring in My servant the ^[d](O)Branch. ⁹ For behold, the stone that I have put before Joshua; on one stone are ^(P)seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave an inscription on it,’ declares Yahweh of hosts, ‘and I will ^(Q)remove the iniquity of that land in one day. ¹⁰ In that day,’ declares Yahweh of hosts, ‘every one of you will call for his neighbor to sit under his ^(R)vine and under his fig tree.’”

The Golden Lampstand

4 Then ^(S)the angel who was speaking with me returned and ^(T)roused me, as a man who is roused from his sleep. ² And he said to me, “^(U)What do you see?” And I said, “I see, and behold, a ^(V)lampstand all of gold with its bowl on the top of it, and its ^(W)seven lamps on it with seven spouts belonging to each of the lamps which are on the top of it, ³ also ^(X)two olive trees by it, one on the right side of the bowl and the other on its left side.” ⁴ Then I answered and said to the angel who was speaking with me saying, “What are these, ^(Y)my lord?” ⁵ So ^(Z)the angel who was speaking with me answered and said to me, “^(AA)Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.” ⁶ Then he answered and spoke to me, saying, “This is the word of Yahweh to ^(AB)Zerubbabel, saying, ‘^(AC)Not by ^[e]might nor by power, but by My ^(AD)Spirit,’ says Yahweh of hosts. ⁷ ‘What are you, O great ^(AE)mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain; and he will bring forth the top stone with ^(AF)shouts of “Grace, grace to it!”’”

⁸ Also the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ⁹ “The hands of Zerubbabel have ^(AG)laid the foundation of this house, and his hands will ^(AH)finish it. Then you will know that Yahweh of hosts has sent me to ^[f]you. ¹⁰ For who has despised the day of ^(AI)small things? ^[g]But these ^(AJ)seven will be glad when they see the ^[h](AK)plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel—these are the ^(AL)eyes of Yahweh which ^(AM)roam to and fro throughout the earth.”

¹¹ Then I answered and said to him, “What are these ^(AN)two olive trees on the right of the lampstand and on its left?” ¹² And I answered the second time and said to him, “What are the two olive ^[i]branches which are beside the two golden pipes, which empty the golden oil from themselves?” ¹³ So he spoke to me, saying, “^(AO)Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, ^(AP)my lord.” ¹⁴ Then he said, “These are the two ^[j](AQ)anointed ones who are ^(AR)standing by the ^(AS)Lord of all the earth.”

A Flying Scroll

5 Then I lifted up my eyes again and saw, and behold, a flying ^(AT)scroll. ² And he said to me, “^(AU)What do you see?” And I said, “I see a flying scroll; its length is ^[k]twenty cubits and its width ten cubits.” ³ Then he said to me, “This is the ^(AV)curse that is going forth over the face of the whole ^[l]land; surely everyone who ^(AW)steals will be ^[m]purged away according to ^[n]the writing on one side, and everyone who ^(AX)swears will be ^[o]purged away according to the writing on the other side. ⁴ I will ^(AY)make it go forth,” declares Yahweh of hosts, “and it will ^(AZ)enter the house of the ^(BA)thief and the house of the one who swears falsely by My name; and it will spend the night within that house and ^(BB)consume it with its timber and stones.”

A Woman in an Ephah

⁵ Then ^(BC)the angel who was speaking with me went out and said to me, “Lift up now your eyes and see what this is going forth.” ⁶ So I said, “What is it?” And he said, “This is the ^[p](BD)ephah going forth.” Again he said, “This is their ^[q]appearance in all the ^[r]land ⁷ (and behold, a lead cover was lifted up); and this is a woman sitting inside the ephah.” ⁸ Then he said, “This is ^(BE)Wickedness!” And he threw her down into the middle of the ephah and threw the lead weight on its ^[s]opening. ⁹ Then I lifted up my eyes and saw, and behold, two women were coming out with the wind in their wings; and they had wings like the wings of a ^(BF)stork, and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heavens. ¹⁰ And I said to the angel who was speaking with me, “Where are they taking the ephah?” ¹¹ Then he said to me, “To build a ^[t]house for her in the land of ^(BG)Shinar; and when it is prepared, she will be set there on her own pedestal.”

Four Chariots

6 Then I lifted up my eyes again and saw, and behold, ^(BH)four chariots were coming forth from between the two mountains; and the mountains were bronze mountains. ² With the first chariot were ^(BI)red horses, with the second chariot ^(BJ)black horses, ³ with the third chariot ^(BK)white horses, and with the fourth chariot ^(BL)dappled horses—all of them mighty. ⁴ Then I answered and said to the angel who was speaking with me, “^(BM)What are these, my lord?” ⁵ And the angel answered and said to me, “These are the ^(BN)four spirits of heaven, going forth after standing before the Lord of all the earth, ⁶ with one of which the black horses are going forth to the ^(BO)north country; and the white ones go forth after them, and the dappled ones go forth to the ^(BP)south country. ⁷ Now the mighty ones went out, and they sought to go to ^[u](BQ)patrol the earth.” And He said, “Go, ^[v]patrol the earth.” So they ^[w]patrolled the earth. ⁸ Then He cried out to me and spoke to me saying, “See, those who are going to the land of the north have ^(BR)caused My Spirit to have rest in the land of the north.”

The Crown and the Temple

⁹ And the ^(BS)word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ¹⁰ “^(BT)Take an offering from the exiles, from Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah; and you come the same day and come into the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah, where they have come from Babylon. ¹¹ And take silver and gold, make an ornate ^(BU)crown, and set it on the head of ^(BV)Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest. ¹² Then you will say to him, ‘Thus says Yahweh of hosts, “Behold, a man whose name is ^[x](BW)Branch, and He will ^[y](BX)branch out from where He is; and He will ^(BY)build the temple of Yahweh. ¹³ Indeed, it is He who will build the temple of Yahweh, and He who will ^(BZ)bear the splendor and sit and ^(CA)rule on His throne. Thus, He will be a ^(CB)priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace will be between the two ^[z]offices.”’ ¹⁴ Now the ^(CC)crown will become a memorial in the temple of Yahweh to Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and ^[aa]Hen the son of Zephaniah. ^15 (CD)And those who are far off will come and ^[ab]build the temple of Yahweh.” Then you will ^(CE)know that Yahweh of hosts has sent me to you. And it will happen if you utterly ^(CF)listen to the voice of Yahweh your God.

The People’s Hard Hearts

7 Now it happened that in the fourth year of King Darius, the word of Yahweh came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is ^(CG)Chislev. ² And the town of Bethel sent Sharezer and Regemmelech and ^[ac]their men to ^[ad](CH)entreat the favor of Yahweh, ³ speaking to the ^(CI)priests, who belong to the house of Yahweh of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, “Shall I weep in the ^(CJ)fifth month ^[ae]and abstain, as I have done these many years?” ⁴ Then the word of Yahweh of hosts came to me, saying, ⁵ “Speak to all the people of the land and to the priests, saying, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months ^[af]these ^(CK)seventy years, was it actually for ^(CL)Me that you fasted? ⁶ And when you eat and when you drink, ^[ag]are you not eating for yourselves and are you not drinking for yourselves? ⁷ Are not these the words which Yahweh ^(CM)called out by the hand of the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and ^(CN)at ease along with its cities around it, and the ^[ah](CO)Negev and the ^[ai]Shephelah were inhabited?’”

⁸ Then the word of Yahweh came to Zechariah saying, ⁹ “Thus has Yahweh of hosts said, ‘^(CP)Judge with true justice and show ^(CQ)lovingkindness and compassion each to his brother; ¹⁰ and ^(CR)do not oppress the widow or the ^[aj]orphan, the sojourner or the afflicted; and do ^(CS)not devise evil in your hearts against one another.’ ¹¹ But they ^(CT)refused to give heed and ^[ak](CU)turned a stubborn shoulder and ^[al](CV)dulled their ears from hearing. ¹² And they made their ^(CW)hearts ^[am](CX)diamond-hard ^[an]so that they could not hear the law and the ^(CY)words which Yahweh of hosts had sent by His Spirit by the hand of the ^(CZ)former prophets; therefore great ^(DA)wrath came from Yahweh of hosts. ¹³ And it happened that just as ^(DB)He called and they would not listen, so ^(DC)they called and I would not listen,” says Yahweh of hosts; ¹⁴ “but I ^[ao](DD)scattered them with a ^(DE)storm wind among all the nations whom they have not known. Thus the land is ^(DF)desolated behind them ^[ap]so that ^(DG)no one was passing through and returning, for they ^(DH)made the pleasant land desolate.”

Jerusalem, the City of Truth

8 Then the word of Yahweh of hosts came, saying, ² “Thus says Yahweh of hosts, ‘^[aq]I am ^(DI)jealous with great jealousy for Zion, and with great wrath I am jealous for her.’ ³ Thus says Yahweh, ‘I will return to Zion and will ^(DJ)dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of ^(DK)Truth, and the mountain of Yahweh of hosts will be called the Holy Mountain.’ ⁴ Thus says Yahweh of hosts, ‘^(DL)Old men and old women will again sit in the ^[ar]streets of Jerusalem, each man with his staff in his hand because of ^[as]age. ⁵ And the ^[at]streets of the city will be filled with ^(DM)boys and girls playing in its ^[au]streets.’ ⁶ Thus says Yahweh of hosts, ‘If it is ^[av](DN)too difficult in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, will it also be ^[aw](DO)too difficult in My sight?’ declares Yahweh of hosts. ⁷ Thus says Yahweh of hosts, ‘Behold, I am going to save My people from the land where the ^[ax](DP)sun rises and from the land where the ^[ay]sun sets; ⁸ and I will ^(DQ)bring them back, and they will ^(DR)dwell in the midst of Jerusalem; and they shall be ^(DS)My people, and I will be their God in ^[az]truth and righteousness.’

⁹ “Thus says Yahweh of hosts, ‘Let your hands be ^(DT)strong, you who are listening in these days to these words from the mouth of the ^(DU)prophets, those who spoke in the day that the foundation of the house of Yahweh of hosts was laid, to the end that the temple might be built. ¹⁰ For before those days there was ^(DV)no wage for man or any wage for animal; and for him who went out or came in there was no ^[ba](DW)peace because of the adversary, and I ^(DX)set all men one against another. ¹¹ But now I will ^(DY)not ^[bb]treat the remnant of this people as in the former days,’ declares Yahweh of hosts. ¹² ‘For there will be ^(DZ)peace for the seed: the vine will yield its fruit, the land will yield its produce, and the heavens will give their ^(EA)dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to inherit ^(EB)all these things. ¹³ And it will be that just as you were a ^(EC)curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so I will save you that you may become a ^(ED)blessing. Do not fear; let your ^(EE)hands be strong.’

¹⁴ “For thus says Yahweh of hosts, ‘Just as I ^(EF)purposed to bring about evil to you when your fathers provoked Me to wrath,’ says Yahweh of hosts, ‘and I have not ^(EG)relented, ¹⁵ so I have again purposed in these days to ^(EH)do good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. ^(EI)Do not fear! ¹⁶ These are the things which you should do: speak the ^(EJ)truth to one another; ^(EK)judge with truth and judgment for peace in your ^[bc]gates. ¹⁷ Also let none of you ^(EL)devise evil in your heart against another, and do not love ^[bd](EM)false oaths; for all these are what I ^(EN)hate,’ declares Yahweh.”